An Unexpected Loss.
A life cut short. By 1334 BCE, Tut’ankhamun had ruled Egypt for approx. 10 years. Sadly, this would be his last. At the age of nineteen or so, the young ruler died. How did it happen? There are a few major hypotheses (illness, accident, or murder). However, as technology and medical science develops, some ideas seem less likely than others. In this episode, I review the major studies and proposals, and present a hypothetical reconstruction of the King’s final moments…Episode details:
- Date: c.1334 BCE
- King: Neb-kheperu-Ra Tut-ankh-Amun.
- Banner image: Shabtis of Tutankhamun, photo by Skip Howard.
- Music by Keith Zizza.
- Music by Michael Levy.
- Music by Ancient Lyric.
- Sound interludes by Luke Chaos.
- Audio mixing/editing by Vincent Cavanagh.
- Hear additional music on my Spotify Playlist.
- See other shows from the Agora Podcast Network.
The History of Egypt Podcast endorses RA EGYPTIAN, the clean, natural skincare line with products derived from ancient Egyptian sources. Use the checkout code EGYPT to enjoy 30% off your order!
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Bibliography
- B. Brier, The Murder of Tutankhamen: A True Story (New York, 1998).
- R. Connolly and G. Godenho, ‘Further Thoughts on Tutankhamun’s Death and Embalming’, in C. Price et al. (eds.), Mummies, magic and medicine in ancient Egypt, Multidisciplinary essays for Rosalie David (2016), 240–8.
- A. Dodson, Amarna Sunset: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Ay, Horemheb, and the Egyptian Counter-Reformation (2nd edn, Cairo, 2017).
- M. Eaton-Krauss, The Unknown Tutankhamun (London, 2016).
- C. El Mahdy, Tutankhamen: The Life and Death of a Boy King (London, 1999).
- M. Gabolde, Toutankhamon (Paris, 2015).
- J. G. Gamble, ‘King Tutankhamun’s Family and Demise’, JAMA 303 (2010), 2471–5.
- W. B. Harer, ‘New Evidence for King Tutankhamen’s Death: His Bizarre Embalming’, The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 97 (2011), 228–33.
- R. G. Harrison and A. B. Abdalla, ‘The Remains of Tutankhamun’, Antiquity 46 (1972), 8–14.
- Z. Hawass, Discovering Tutankhamun: From Howard Carter to DNA (Cairo, 2013).
- Z. Hawass and S. N. Saleem, Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging in the New Kingdom Royal Mummies (Cairo, 2016).
- K. Hussein et al., ‘Paleopathology of the Juvenile Pharaoh Tutankhamun: 90th Anniversary of Discovery’, Heidelberg Virchows Archiv 463 (2013), 475–9.
- N. Kawai, ‘Studies in the Reign of Tutankhamun’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Johns Hopkins University (2005).
- N. Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun (Cairo, 1990).
- F. Rühli and S. Ikram, ‘Purported Medical Diagnoses of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, c. 1325 BC-’, HOMO – Journal of Comparative Human Biology 65 (2014), 51–63.
- J. Tyldesley, Tutankhamen’s Curse: The Developing History of an Egyptian King (London, 2012).
Very interesting and insightful!
Thank you, this was fascinating to listen to. I guess it’s better to have a logical than have none : ).
So I take your scenario of the events with me.
Fascinating series. What will the world be like when you finish, which you seem to be nearing. Oh, how much I am not looking forward to that moment : )
Best,
Ivonna
Just a small correction: Malaria is not a bacteria but a single celled organism.
Hello Dominic,
Thanks for this episode. I really love the way you carefully review evidence that is not necessarily straightforward to understand. I just have a minor (if pedantic) correction: _Plasmodium falciparum_ is not a bacterium, but much more closely related to us (that is why it is quite hard to treat malaria; what kills them tends to kills us too). You could call it a “protist” but for a general audience you might be best off just calling it a “parasite”. For the rest, great stuff.
Kind regards,
Michael
Two comments. While malaria is a terrible disease and millions contract it each year, the number of annual deaths is an order of magnitude lower: in the hundreds of thousands, not millions.
It’s also interesting that three of the more debatable items discussed – the club foot, malaria, and the DNA kinship “determinations” all came from the same 2010 article published in JAMA. And although Hawass is the first author, the lead author from a scientific point of view is the last one, Carsten Pusch.